Happy Mother's Day Everyone!

Tuesday Treat: Pita Chips

Okay, so today's Tuesday Treat is not a recipe. But I do want to recommend the pita chips found at the Dollar Store. There are tons of flavors and they are yummy! I'm sure they are available elsewhere if there are no Dollar Generals or Family Dollars or whatever near you. My favorite right now is Bacon and Cheddar. Yum!

Friday Five: 5 Questions with Elizabeth

... about teaching reading!

Elizabeth is a dear friend of mine, though we haven't seen each other in a long time. I got the chance to chat with her over the weekend about teaching reading to elementary students. Just so you know, Elizabeth hates all things computer related. So much so that she doesn't even own a home computer or a cell phone. I know... how crazy is that in this day and age? I try to convince her to join the technological era every time we speak, but so far she has been resistant to my common sense arguments. This was a phone conversation, where I tried to scribble notes and she tried to speak slow and keep things short, which she failed of course. Answers may not be 100% verbatim, but I read this to her and she agrees that I got it pretty much right. haha

Thursday Thought: Tradition

W. Somerset Maugham, one of the highest paid writers of his time, said this about traditions:

"Tradition is a guide and not a jailer."

I'm a fan of traditions so long as it doesn't become an extreme view on life. Unfortunately, many people keep hurtful traditions over helpful traditions. Maybe that will change one day. It is a work in progress, I think. :)

A View From the Margins

I found an awesome thing from the New York Times this weekend. A Year in Reading is an interactive look at a snippet from 12 different reading materials that literary critic Sam Anderson read over the past year. Included is an audio of Sam speaking about the selection and an interactive photo of his "notations" in the margins of the selection. For every piece, Sam has written something, sometimes funny, sometimes serious, and underlined the specific lines that produced his reactions. Roll your mouse around each photo to see it up close, or just read the caption below each photo to see what he wrote. Selections include A Pale King by David Foster Wallace; Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert; John McFee: The Art of Nonfiction, No. 3, an interview with writer John McFee by the Paris Review; and Bleak House by Charles Dickens. Good stuff here! The commentary is short in each section and well worth the listen! Also, I don't know Sam Anderson, but he sounds like a hottie. :D

Tuesday Treat: Favorite Snacks of the Great Scribblers

I ran across this awesome article/cartoon this weekend. Illustrator Wendy McNaughton, writer and illustrator of Meanwhile, pondered the snack foods that inspired some of the greatest writers. The article itself is very short. A single paragraph. The cartoon is the biggest draw of course. Did you know that Walt Whitman started every day with oysters and meat for breakfast? Um... yum? I guess. Check it out!

My newest snack inspiration is bacon and cheddar chips that I found at the Dollar Store. Oh such deliciousness! I still keep pretzel rods and Goldfish snack crackers on my desk (which is now in a bedroom instead of the den and/or dining room!!!). Baby Cat had a kitten on April 1st (what a terrible April Fools Day joke on us lol) and I've been doing my darnedest to keep Baby Cat out of my bacon and cheddar chips while she is "under house arrest" until the kitten is weaned. Huge struggle!

Do you have any new/old favorite snacks that help you focus on your work?

Short Story vs. Novel

In recent weeks, I have been asked by a few folks about writing. I suppose this is because my first novel, Journey of Shadows, came out in March through Smashwords. My co-workers have especially been curious, and a few of them have asked some really good questions. The most reoccurring question though has been this: "Why did you decide to write a novel instead of a short story?" The usual comment that follows is something along the lines of "A short story is so much easier, right?"

My answer? Well, yes and no. A short story is less words... a whole lot less in fact. But in my opinion, it is much more difficult to write. Why? For many, many reasons.

Hey there! Yes, You...

Sorry for being absent this week. Our Internet hasn't been the most reliable thanks to some scattered storms and utility "repairs" down the street. I gave up after they flipped our electric off for the 4th time in an hour and decided not to attempt to blog until they were finished. That was on Monday. They aren't there today so I'm crossing my fingers that they completed their project, and not just gone for the weekend. Just in case, I'm working on some blogs for this coming week and will be scheduling them throughout the week.

Coming this week:
Monday- Short Story vs. Novel
Tuesday- Tuesday Treat: Favorite Snacks of the Great Scribblers
Wednesday- A View From the Margins
Thursday- Thursday Thought: Tradition
Friday- Friday Five: 5 Questions with a Reading Teacher

Stay tuned!

Friday Five: 5 Questions with Rene part 2

Continuing my 5 Questions series with Rene, we switched gears to talk about her political activism through Political Commentary. Rene is very intelligent woman and knows her stuff when it comes to politics. She keeps herself informed and abreast of current events. She is also very tolerant of different views/opinions, which I have rarely found in others in the realm of political activism. Even when others do not give her the same courtesy. I respect her so much for that, which is why I decided to interview her on this subject.

Q: You keep a blog about current events. Why did you decide to blog about politics?

A: In any endeavor, if you feel passionate about something, you have to give voice to it. Some stories or issues, it's either write or explode. [I wouldn't have a clue what you mean by that. :P]

Q: What issues are the closest to your heart?

A: Because of my background, I have a real issue with bullies and abuse. Thus, I tend to care most about groups that are abused or disenfranchised like women, minorities, the working poor, etc.

Q: Do you get your political news from any particular sources other than mainstream media?
A: In the morning I start with Google News which gives a spread on everything. I then check the International News sites such as BBC, le Monde and Al Jazeera. Then I check sites like Huffington Post and finally I check news blogs. If I'm looking for news on a specific bill, I'll check Congress.gov, or the Congressional Record. If it's a specific speech, I check YouTube and C-Span. In this way, you get the overview from several angles. [I tried to include the links to these particular places, but forgive me if the links are wrong.]

Q: Do you claim a political party?

A: As my hero, Will Rogers once said, "I belong to no organized political party, I am a Democrat." I go one step further, I am a Progressive Democrat.

Q: How do you feel about political satirist like Jon Daley and theonion.com? Do they hurt or help people understand the current political climate?

A: Humor has always been used to teach and shine a light on politics. I was weaned on Will Rogers and Molly Ivens and love Colbert, the Daily Show, etc.

Have any questions or comments? Post them below!

Thursday Thought: Live Life...

There are some amazing quotes about life. I have had such things on my mind for a couple reasons. One, a woman I went to high school with many years ago lost her younger brother last week in a car wreck. He was 25. And the second is that the school district where my little sisters attend have had 2 student deaths this school year, one due to a wreck and one a suicide. Life is precious. Goodreads has a great collection of quotes. Following are a few of my favorite.

"You gotta dance like there's nobody is watching, love like you'll never be hurt, sing like there's nobody listening, and live like it's Heaven on Earth." William W. Purkey

"In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: it goes on." Robert Frost

"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." George Bernard Shaw

"Get busy living, or get busy dying." Stephen King, Shawshank Redemption


"I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You got to go out and kick ass." Maya Angelou

"There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be." John Lennon

Go out there and live life to the fullest. Remember we aren't promised tomorrow so live like today is your last and you'll be okay.